Since the Newtown shootings, the pros and cons of gun control have been heavily debated in the media. Anti-gun activists are petitioning for a ban on automatic weapons similar to the one used by Adam Lanza, following December’s shooting deaths of 26 adults and children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn. No matter where you stand on the gun rights issue, we all grieve for the families who lost loved ones on that terrible day.
The public debate has now shifted to how best to prevent subsequent mass shootings in the future.
Would a ban on guns work? We’ve all heard the saying, “If guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns,” and that still rings true. During the Prohibition, history shows alcoholic beverages were readily available, for those willing to smuggle in bootlegged liquor. That underground economy soon led to the proliferation of organized crime. The mobsters continued to have weaponry, and had no qualms about using fully automatic machine guns to battle law enforcement, as well as competing against organized criminal gangs, and even small-time hoodlums.
Yet, ask yourself: Have we stopped illicit drug use by making drugs illegal? Look at the facts. Illegal drugs continued to be grown or manufactured, and smuggled across international borders. Do I want to see hard drugs legalized? No, I don’t, since these substances harm individuals and their families. Even society at large has been impacted by the massive costs of reining in illegal drug trafficking. Despite the threat of serious consequences, anyone who is so inclined can still obtain them.
Even if the sale of guns or automatic weapons were banned, then what about the millions of guns that are currently in circulation? Anyone with criminal intent would still be able to get one through the black market. It would appear that the only benefit of a ban on automatic weapons would be the possibility of preventing crimes of passion, if a gun is not readily at hand. However, many mass murders have planned attacks in advance. The massacre at Columbine High School is one such example. Banning guns would be closing the stable door after the horse has already bolted.
Let’s remember the intent of the Second Amendment. It was to provide for a citizen militia that would have the firepower to drive out an enemy invader, as well as protecting the citizenry from its own government, should basic freedoms be denied. The right to bear arms also provides the means for private citizens to protect themselves against crime. I suspect both the frequency and the magnitude of violent crime would be reduced, if more law-abiding citizens carried guns and had the skill to use them against an attacker.